This module combines a stay in cosmopolitan and historic Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) with a laid back Mekong Delta Tour through the emerald waterways of the Mekong Delta. There's plenty of time to wander wide-eyed around the largest city in Vietnam, admiring the French-style architecture, wide avenues, large markets and fantastic restaurants. You'll stay in a comfortable hotel in the lively quarter of Ho Chi Minh, full of energy, street stalls, and backpackers. From Saigon, you'll take an excursion to the fascinating Cu Chi Tunnels, an eerie labyrinth of underground passages built by the Viet Cong. You'll then leave the urban bustle behind, weaving through the shimmering Mekong Delta aboard a boat for your Mekong Delta Tour and experiencing life on the water in South Vietnam.

You can also choose to take this module as an individual trip. You'll then be taken by chauffeur-driven car to the Cu Chi Tunnels and by private boat with guide for the journey on your Mekong Delta Tour. Feel free to ask our travel specialists if you are interested in taking an individual trip.

Duration: 5 days - 4 nights
offered Monday, Thursday and Saturday from Ho Chi Minh City
Accommodation: 3 nights at a centrally located Ho Chi Minh hotel and 1 night in a simple hotel in Can Tho
accommodation categories 2-3 Price: from $339 per person - based on 2 people sharing
Includes: transport, accommodation with breakfast, excursions as described in text, guide, entrance fees for the Cu Chi Tunnels
Transport: air-conditioned minibus and boat
Excludes: all other meals and drinks

Day 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City

If you're arriving from the north, you'll probably arrive in Ho Chi Minh City by sleeper train or internal flight. From here, you'll need to organise a taxi to your hotel, located in District 1. This couldn't be easier as, you'll quickly learn, taxis and tuk-tuks are never in short supply in Vietnam. You'll stay in a luxury room complete with air-conditioning for 3 nights. The hotel is located near Tham Street, Saigon's frenetic backpacker/market area. The area is crammed with dozens of cosy little restaurants and small souvenir shops.

If you're looking for a little more luxury and a quieter location, we can offer you a hotel in the upmarket section of the city on a broad avenue lined with designer shops and rooftop restaurants. These hotels have the added bonus of swimming pools, for a cooling dip after a hot, humid day of sightseeing.

Day 2: Cu Chi tunnels

Today you'll head to the Cu Chi Tunnels, located 30km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. You'll travel by minibus, passing peaceful paddy fields and watching delta life, you'll also have a chance to see an unusual floating temple.

The Viet Cong dug the haunting network of the Cu Chi tunnels during the Vietnam War to hide from American forces. The underground labyrinth covers an incredible 250km and enabled the Vietcong to carry out covert attacks. They are very narrow, deep, and unbelievably dark, making them hugely claustrophobic. The tunnels were built to live in and work in; they include sleeping quarters, kitchens, ammunition stores, weapon factories, and command centres. The many fake entrances and booby traps built within the tunnels to mislead the enemy are quite ingenious.

You'll be given the opportunity to climb into the tunnels and experience their eerie atmosphere first hand. Many of them have been enlarged especially for tourists, making them far less hair-raising for visitors. However, if you're feeling brave, you can also try the originals. It's a unique, if creepy, experience. The guide will explain the history and the precise uses of the tunnels. In the adjoining Cu Chi Museum, you can also see a video with vintage American film material.

You'll head back to Ho Chi Minh City at about 2pm, giving you plenty of time to explore more of the city or people-watch from a pavement cafe.

Day 3: Mekong Delta

The next two days are dedicated to the dazzling Mekong Delta during your Mekong Delta Tour. The Mekong River, with its vast fertile delta, is the backbone of the economy in the south. It produces one of Vietnam's most important exports- rice. At around 7:30 AM, the minibus will arrive to take you in the direction of Cai Be. From here, you'll hop onto a boat and sail in a small group through the Mekong Delta. In Cai Be you'll sail past colourful, floating markets, where vendors will offer their wares from their boats jammed with produce, dangling their goods in the air from a long pole. You'll also see small flotillas drifting along as traders link up to swap goods amongst themselves.

Your Mekong Delta Tour will also sail through canals inhabited by the people of the Mekong Delta. You'll quickly understand why the people of the south are renowned for their friendliness, as they smile and wave from their houses when you pass by. Daily life will pass you by as you sail through small villages, past rice paddies and when visiting family businesses. These businesses refine rice or make candy out of coconuts. While sailing through the maze of canals, you'll visit one of the many islands on the Mekong; Vinh Long Island. You can also cycle through one of the villages on a river island, catching an even closer glimpse of daily life. There is not much time to stop for lunch, so we recommend tasting the Mekong Delta specialities throughout the day. In the afternoon you'll sail for approximately 3 hours until you reach Can Tho, where you'll arrive on time for sunset. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, for instance low water levels, this entire portion of the trip will be conducted by mini bus.

The boat will then take you to a simple but charming hotel for the night. It lies in Can Tho on the banks of the Mekong, where you can relax in the evening with a cool drink and watch the delta sunset.

Day 4: Mekong Delta

Today your Mekong Delta Tour will continue from your hotel at 7.30 sharp and the local boat will take you to the floating market of Cai Rang, which is the largest, most important, and probably the noisiest floating market in the Mekong Delta. In order to get close to all of the excitement of the floating market, you'll transfer into a bamboo rowboat. You'll sail amidst all of the boats peddling their wares. Naturally you yourself won't have to row during this journey and therefore you'll have plenty of time to negotiate and purchase goods, such as a pineapple for 50 cents. In the village on the banks of the river, you'll drop in on a factory where rice is ‘puffed’ and transformed into Vietnamese rice cakes. You will also visit a small rice noodle factory, (if it's open on that day!)

At the end of our Mekong Delta Tour you'll have a pretty good impression of life on this important river. Eventually you'll take the comfortable air-conditioned coach back to Ho Chi Minh, and after a quick stop at Can Tho market, you'll arrive back in Ho Chi Minh City at around 3-5pm.

Day 5: Ho Chi Minh City - End of module

This module finishes today after breakfast.

Email: phamtours@yahoo.com